ATF gets new leader in Philadelphia

The bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has tapped a 20-year veteran to lead its Philadelphia division. The new special agent in charge, Essam Rabadi, started on May 1.

Rabadi comes directly from a stint overseeing the firearms division at the bureau’s Washington, D.C. headquarters, but his appointment marks a return to Philadelphia, one of many stops in his career.

A native of Yonkers, N.Y., he first served on the local police department there before joining the U.S. Secret Service in New York in 1989. Three years later, he became an ATF special agent. From 2000 to 2005, he supervised the Philadelphia division’s high-intensity drug trafficking task force. Now, as the division’s top agent, he’ll oversee 14 ATF offices throughout Pennsylvania.

“ATF remains dedicated to identifying, targeting, and investigating violent criminals who prey upon innocent citizens and lessen the quality of life in our neighborhoods,” Rabadi said in a statement.